A year after lavish funeral, Savile myth in ruins

FILE - Crowds of people throng the route to watch the funeral cortege for Sir Jimmy Savile pass by in this file photo dated Wednesday Nov. 9, 2011, in Leeds, England. A year ago Savile was a cultural icon, but now on the first anniversary of the funeral, his reputation is laid low, his grave stone removed, and the people who revered him are trying to come to terms with his alleged sex crimes. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)
— AP

FILE - Crowds of people throng the route to watch the funeral cortege for Sir Jimmy Savile pass by in this file photo dated Wednesday Nov. 9, 2011, in Leeds, England. A year ago Savile was a cultural icon, but now on the first anniversary of the funeral, his reputation is laid low, his grave stone removed, and the people who revered him are trying to come to terms with his alleged sex crimes. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)
/ AP

When Savile died, Prince Charles' office said the heir to the throne and his wife "were saddened to hear of Jimmy Savile's death."

The late DJ boasted of his ties to powerful people, including Prince Charles, the late Princess Diana and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whom he visited at her country retreat.

His connections may have helped shield him from criticism. Several young people accused Savile of abuse while he was alive, and he was questioned by police, but no charges were laid - and no newspaper ever printed the allegations.

Now, police are investigating claims of abuse from some 300 people who have come forward since the scandal exploded when allegations about Savile were broadcast in a TV documentary in early October. And police are facing investigation themselves for their failure to act sooner.

Charles' Clarence House office says the prince's relationship with Savile was solely a result of their shared charity work.

REMORSE AND REGRET

"If there's a heaven, he'll be laughing now if he's got time," fellow DJ Tony Prince said at the funeral. "Because if there is a heaven, he'll be introducing Elvis on the clouds."

"Everyone who knew Jimmy knows it was a life-changing experience," he said.

Last month, Eager told The Sun newspaper that he was "completely and utterly gobsmacked" by the allegations against Savile, and felt guilty about failing to stop the abuse.

"You feel traumatized and sorry for the people abused by Jimmy but equally you think, `Why the bloody hell didn't we see something?'" he said.

A SHATTERED IMAGE

Savile's carefully crafted myth didn't outlive him by long, and he has not rested in peace. His family has had the star's gravestone destroyed in response to public outrage. This week his nephew backed calls to exhume and cremate Savile's body out of respect to other bereaved families.

Of all the words spoken at the funeral a year ago, one comment now sounds prophetic. "None of us really knew the real Jimmy," fellow DJ Mike Read said. "Maybe he didn't even know himself."